A/HRC/39/72 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 19 July 2018 Original: English Human Rights Council Thirty-ninth session 10–28 September 2018 Agenda items 10 Technical assistance and capacity-building Report of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia Note by the Secretariat The Secretariat has the honour to transmit to the Human Rights Council the report of the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia, Bahame Tom Nyanduga, pursuant to its resolution 36/27. In the report, the Independent Expert highlights a progressive improvement of the human rights context, while noting considerable challenges that negate the full realization of human rights in Somalia. The positive developments include the process of establishing the National Human Rights Commission and the fact that Somalia ceased the inhumane practice of public executions in Mogadishu of persons sentenced to death. The many challenges that remain include the continued violation of the rights to freedom of expression and opinion, by both the federal and State security forces, the violation of the rights of internally displaced persons, the absence of a legal framework for the protection of persons with disabilities and the plight of the rights of children who had been abducted by Al-Shabaab and subsequently recaptured or who had escaped. Somalia retains the death penalty despite having accepted the recommendations made in 2011 as part of the universal periodic review process to adopt a moratorium. Other challenges include the continued existence of sexual and gender-based violence, in spite of campaigns and the implementation of the joint communiqué between the Federal Government of Somalia and the United Nations on the prevention of sexual violence, concluded on 7 May 2013. Al-Shabaab remains a potent threat in spite of the continued fight by troops from the Somalia National Security Forces and the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). The group has continued to carry out acts of terrorism, such as the 14 October 2017 bombing in Mogadishu that left hundreds of civilians dead. It also targets public officials and extorts taxes from the civilian population in areas under its control. Somalia is still undergoing transition in its governance and the peacebuilding process. It has witnessed progress as well as setbacks in the political, social and economic spheres, which have included the removal of high-placed State officials from public office. Within a period of few weeks, the Speaker of Parliament and Chief Justice were removed from office. Somalia has observed a neutral stance vis-à-vis the Gulf crisis, thus avoiding potential destabilization owing its historical connections and proximity to the region. GE.18-12001(E) 